The exhibition prologue, “2000 ans d'imaginaire gaulois” (“2000 years of Gallic creativity”), showcases around forty paintings, sculptures and songs portraying the Gauls and their evolving image over the centuries. Visitors rub shoulders with numerous different portrayals, from Julius Caesar to Lavisse, and from Napoleon Bonaparte to Asterix. Just afterwards, they can roll up their sleeves and enjoy their first contact with a real archaeological dig. Visitors are forewarned: the exhibition at the Cité des Sciences will completely overturn their clichéd ideas about “our ancestors, the Gauls”.
During the third stage of the exhibition – “from dig to museum” – visitors will discover four tombs, the staging of a Gallic ceremony at a shrine and numerous rites and customs. A collection of unique objects reveals the sophistication of the societies of the era. They can then watch an audiovisual show that will immerse them in the day-to-day life of the Gauls. The final room of the exhibition challenges generally accepted ideas. Here we discover that the cock was never the emblem of the Gauls and that the “Long-Haired Gauls” Julius Caesar spoke about referred not to the country's people but its trees, so different from those found in Italy!
